


The Sailor

by SYNdicate930



Series: HyungWonho one shots [2]
Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Fantasy, Fluff, M/M, Mermaids, Short One Shot, The ending makes me sad, don’t TOUCH ME IM, fairytale, im a mess y’all
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-28
Updated: 2019-03-28
Packaged: 2019-12-26 00:17:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18271976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SYNdicate930/pseuds/SYNdicate930
Summary: “All he ever does is swim, swim, and swim. Hoseok wonders much about of the world and creatures outside of his domain, and what sort of things would await him if he were ever to, figuratively, in his case, step foot on land.”Mermaid!Wonho’s first encounter with a human, and sailor!Hyungwon’s first encounter with a mermaid.





	The Sailor

All he ever does is swim, swim, and swim.  Hoseok wonders much about of the world and creatures outside of his domain, and what sort of things would await him if he were ever to, figuratively, in his case, step foot on land. Alone in the ocean by himself, a single mermaid, the only of his kind, he floats by, bored and with a sigh beside a group of fish—his ever reliable and caring best friends who keep him company during his long days afloat.

In an unexplainable way, sea creatures understand him through his feelings and vice versa; Hoseok cannot speak to them, and they cannot speak to him. In fact, the human language is something that perplexes Hoseok. He and his beloved fishes communicate through emotions, and, one day in the height of summertime, the fish decide to try to entertain their bored friend. They swim on ahead and create patterns with themselves, conjuring up wondrous formations and moving in synch to the sound of the waves, and the beat of the water splashing against Hoseok’s ear calmly.

Pearly whites are revealed as he smiles fondly. The sight warms his heart - what would he do without them? Once their performance is over, they surround Hoseok excitedly for approval, and he beams at them. Oh, what sweet friends! 

But it isn’t quite enough to lessen the growing boredom piling upon his pale shoulders day after dreadfully long day.

What to do?

What to do?

Bidding them farewell for the day late in the afternoon, Hoseok glides through the warm water alone, flipping himself over to swim on his back to stare at the sun through the water and admire its light and the warmth it brings to the water. He often contemplates what it feels like to completely immerse himself in the sunlight, to walk on the sand the waters clash against. The elderly fish warn him to never reveal too much of his body above the water, for they live in fear of the humans who dwell upon the island their colony resides so closely to, and if he were to ever be seen, all would be lost for him.

But he shakes his head. That’s just what they say to scare him - it’s what all the elders tell the younger fish to make sure they don’t stray too far, but Hoseok knows much better. 

Though curious of the world in which humans dominate, and catching them using those strange limbs they call ‘legs’ for transportation when he was younger and getting scolded daily for swimming too close, approaching land recklessly, Hoseok knows that, deep within his heart, the ocean is his home, and if man were ever to take him out of it, he would miss it dearly. Hoseok is older now, and he knows much, much better. Yet, he cannot help but wonder just what else there is to see if he were to swim up a little closer to the water’s surface, to stick poke his head above the water’s surface for more than a fleeting second. 

Maneuvering his muscular body higher, he can feel the sun’s welcoming heat grow. Nothing bad has happened yet, so maybe if he were to peak his head out of the water - even just a  _ little _ bit - what could possibly go wrong? From the neck up, Hoseok is out of water and out of lines, though neither humans nor creatures alike are around to see him or the rules the elders have set being broken completely.

The sight before him is splendid, utterly  _ breathtaking _ , and he has to shake his face to ensure the glimmering copper he has for eyes are not playing dirty tricks on him. For a few moments, Hoseok stares at the abandoned beach before him in all its introverted and lonely beauty. The lush flowers and tall, green trees on the other side of the shining sand have him in a trance, wondering how it would feel like to lie against the sand and stare up into the blue sky. He’s seen a few humans do it before in the past, and they’ve all seemed to enjoy something as simple as rest.

Drifting closer towards the sandy shore, Hoseok stretches a muscular arm out of the water to touch the sand and to feel it slip between his fingers, reveling in the alien sensation of something so dry and hot. Just as the tips of his long fingers uncurl from his fist uncertain fist to touch the hot sand once more, he hears an eruption of loud shouting from behind him and he tenses instantly.

Turning around, he stares up at the group of men on a white boat floating to shore just feet away from him, one man in particular standing on the edge closest to him frowns while the men around him cheer. Staring at Hoseok with wide eyes and an apologetic furrow to his brows, something shoots Hoseok in the arm and, within a the blink of an eye, his world goes black and the sunny sky and white clouds fades from view.

“Nice shoot, Hyungwon!” 

—-—-—-—-—-—-

When Hoseok wakes up, the bright sky has morphed into an odd mixture of dark blue and orange as the sun sets. He has regained consciousness and knowledge of his present whereabouts, and that he is lying upon something… unfamiliar. Blinking, he turns his head to see that he is atop the sand - atop  _ dry _ sand - atop the land of  _ humans _ . He is suddenly filled with horror as the elder’s warnings fill his head, and he jerks reflexively, attempting to crawl back into the water, only to realize that something is keeping his arms restricted, that he isn’t quite as alone as he thinks.

“Hey, are you awake? You better be. Babysitting you while the others have gone to drink is really boring,” Hoseok rolls onto his other side to find a man sitting atop a log by a fire. He appears to be a sailor; his clothes are black and red, and his skin tanned lightly, with dark hair reminiscent of the shadows in the deepest regions of the ocean Hoseok loves to swim in the most. He had been the fellow frowning earlier on the boat, before he lost consciousness.  

The mermaid’s eyes narrow dangerously despite the panic and fear.

“Don’t look at me like that, I‘m not going to hurt you. Relax.” The sailor gives an awed whistle, “Wow. I’ve never seen one of you before. You really are as beautiful as the stories say.”

Hoseok cannot comprehend what he is saying, but he is able to fully understand this man’s aura, and the total lack of danger emitting from his person.. Hoseok’s tense muscles calm, and his feature softens considerably. There’s almost something comforting about the young man. 

“There, there. That’s better,” The man says. For a moment, the man falls silent, and he begins to rummage around the small bag at his feet.

There is a stinging feeling in Hoseok’s right arm, and he groans painfully. He sees the dried crimson of his blood on his upper arm. Had he cut himself against a rock on his way to the shore? “Okay, okay, stay still,” Hoseok looks up to find the human draw closer to him with a knife in his hand.

His eyes widen. That thing in his hand had killed many of other fishes and his friends - many of the mermaids before him.

Hoseok begins to thrash about violently, his arms doing their best to break free. 

He has to pull himself back into the ocean!

“Calm down. Please, if you don’t stop moving, I might cut your by accident.” Holding the handle of the sharp blade between his teeth, the sailor takes Hoseok’s arm. He undoes the bandana he has around his arm to tie it around the wound on Hoseok’s. The blue cloth keeps the sand from entering, and he then uses his blade to cut the rope around the mermaid’s wrist. “I’m not supposed to be doing this but whatever. A pretty thing like you doesn’t deserve to be stuck on land. I’ve heard the stories, the tales of what happens to mermaids once humans get their hands on them. I don’t think you’d enjoy swimming around in the tanks the noblemen and women keep. They must be tiny compared to what you’re used to.”

With wide eyes Hoseok stares at his upper arm, at his freed wrists and the ugly red marks around them from the irritating rope, to the sailor returning to his seat atop a log in surprise, confusion bubbling around in the pit of his stomach. The human notices, and furrows his eyebrows. 

“What are you lying around there for?” Picking hip his bottle of rum, he uses it to motion towards the water, “Go on - leave before the others come back!”

Hoseok does not understand his words, but the concern in his aura is touching.

“Well, what are you waiting for?” Nodding, Hoseok pulls himself towards the shore and, after giving the man one last look over his shoulder, dives into the sea, swimming as fast as he can with a wide smile.

Always gravitating towards whatever his interests find worthy or even the slightest bit odd, Hoseok has taken a great interest in humans - more specifically, in that sailor. From then on, though even more cautious than ever, he often catches himself peeping through the water towards the abandoned beach from a distance in hopes of seeing that man once more. Every day the sailor leaves land at dawn, sometimes by himself, sometimes with the scary men who had given him the nasty scar on his arm, and returns before the sun begins to set, sometimes a little earlier on particularly hot days. From afar, Hoseok is always watching him inquisitively, waiting for him attentively from behind a few stones that protrude from the water.

Watching the human with the pitch black hair and sun-kissed skin hop out of his small boat by himself and pull it to shore, Hoseok sinks back into the ocean’s surface as the man turns to look over his shoulder. What Hoseok doesn’t see is the figure of a woman with long, hair running towards him. The sailor greets her with open arms, and they embrace as Hoseok returns to his friends from his rock with a smile, wearing that man’s bandana around his arm, even as it heals completely.

**Author's Note:**

> im sad y’all


End file.
